Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at Denison University

Denison's Romance Languages program produces first-year earnings of $42,992—significantly above the $27,815 median for Ohio and even exceeding Miami University's outcomes. While the debt figure of roughly $25,490 is estimated from national patterns for similar private liberal arts colleges (actual program-specific data is unavailable), this creates a debt-to-earnings ratio under 0.6, which is manageable for a humanities degree.

The concern here isn't the initial financial picture—it's the flat earnings trajectory. Four years out, graduates earn essentially the same amount they did immediately after college, suggesting many land in entry-level positions without clear advancement paths. For context, typical Romance Languages graduates nationwide earn $34,497 first year, so Denison's premium likely reflects its highly selective admissions (17% acceptance rate) and the strong professional networks that come with it. But those advantages don't appear to translate into mid-career momentum based on peer program patterns.

For families considering this investment, the key question is whether your child has concrete plans that justify a languages degree—translation work, international business roles, graduate school, or jobs where multilingual skills command premium pay. Without that direction, you're banking on Denison's alumni network and your child's resourcefulness to turn solid starting earnings into something more substantial. The financial foundation looks reasonable compared to other Ohio programs, but the lack of earnings growth suggests this degree works best as preparation for something specific, not as a general-purpose credential.